Hesitant Valentine
by OKFandom
Summary: Guzma receives an apology gift from the Aether Foundation, and something a little more. CuddleBugShipping; Guzma/Wicke


A cute little oneshot for a cute little pairing. This was written for valentines day

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Guzma stretched his arms over his head in the late-morning light and yawned, feeling his spine cracking back into alignment with the motion. It was cool of Hala and his grandson to give him a place to stay in Iki Town – really cool, all things considering – but _damn_ , the old man _really_ didn't cut any slack when it came to training! Golisopod had the luxury of sleeping it off in its Poké Ball, at the very least.

Today's training had been particularly tough on the duo, so much so that the bug-type had made an Emergency Exit the minute they were done. That left Guzma alone with his downtime, and he knew _just_ how to spend it.

Hau'Oli's malasada shop could've been marked with stars on a map with how it shone in Guzma's mind. He remembered seeing some ad saying they were serving Tapu Cocoa for a limited time now, too, making it all the more appealing. There was something else about the commercial, some kind of deal? Maybe something to do with the Tapu Cocoa, yeah, that sounded about right. But wasn't there something else…?

Three seconds down the street were enough to remind him. _Valentine's Day_ , holy shit. How did he forget that?! Actually, looking out over the sea of noisy couples clogging the streets, the answer came swiftly enough. There were Cutiefly levels of cute, then there was the sickening, icky-sweet Luvdisc-fest he was seeing before him.

Twenty (or was it thirty?) minutes later found him _finally_ outside the malasada shop, only for there to be a line trailing down the street from its doors. Giving out an exasperated groan that was lost in the chatter of all the happy couples, Guzma slumped down on the wall of the building. All that work fighting through the crowds, all for nothing! They'd be sold out of everything in stock by the time he got in there! At least on a normal day, he could expect most people to give him a reasonable berth – comes with the territory of being the ex-Leader of the region's biggest gang. On a day like this, though, not even the grassy shortcuts could help him. Who the hell has a picnic in those spots, anyway? Who put _that_ idea in the heads of so many tourists?!

"This is the _worst_ …" Guzma griped to himself, ready to turn back and call it a day after fighting through the crowd again. That is until he heard someone call his name.

Pausing, he looked around for the source, only to shockingly find the, now, Main Branch Chief of the Aether Foundation, Wicke, stumbling through the crowd as quickly as she could in her pencil skirt. One hand waved to him while the other carried a small package that ran the risk of being dropped every time someone bumped into her.

The ex-Skull Leader had nothing against the woman, knowing she'd been left out of the loop during Lusamine's madness. So, feeling a bit bad for how Wicke was being jostled around, he made his way over to the shorter woman, his presence there enough to deflect a few inattentive pedestrians. She smiled up to him in thanks, catching her breath.

"Guzma, good morning! It's great to see you!" Wicke's chipper voice rang clear now that he was closer, managing to be heard over the people around them. "I was just on my way over to Iki Town to, well, to see you!"

"See _me_ ?" Guzma clarified skeptically, prompting the woman to blush and stutter poorly around a response. Before she could manage, yet another rough elbow to the side had him giving up on having a conversation between the docks and the malasada shop– there were WAY too many damn people. "Yo, uh, great ta see ya too an' all, but ya wanna talk somewhere we _ain't_ drownin' in people?"

The brunette nodded, following Guzma's lead as he steered a path back towards the Hau'Oli outskirts. Once the crowd had thinned to an acceptable level, no longer posing the risk of sweeping them along, they tried conversing again. Or, rather, Wicke held out the package in lieu of an explanation.

"Whassat?" The tall man asked, taking the package gingerly and giving it a light shake. Wicke shifted on her feet, fingers twiddling.

"I-it's, uhh- it's a gift," Her blush intensified when she caught up with her words, continuing. "F-from the Aether Foundation, of course! I guess you could call it a 'formal apology', haha–"

Guzma kept inspecting the gift as she went on, slightly more at ease now that he had an explanation for what was up. "–we truly are sorry about Lusamine breaking her promises, especially about the living needs assistance you'd specifically requested for your– um, former team. And I'm sure Ultra Space was no better an experience, judging from Ms. Lillie's description of it…so, um, yes! This is for you."

Hesitantly opening the box, the bug specialist blinked. Tapu Cocoa? The fancy kind, too – in a Delcatty tin, rather than the cheaper Skitty pouch. There was a wrapped bundle emitting a heavenly aroma ("Malasada," Wicke assured him) and a card as well.

Deciding to hold back on the malasada munching for a moment, Guzma picked up the card instead. It was the basic Aether Foundation white with gold accents; probably just a rehash of what she said– orrr not? The cheery image of a cluster of Cutiefly surrounding a Ribombee decorated the front. "You're the Ribombee's knees!" The inside declared in a fancy script, decorated by even more Cutiefly, but obviously stickers this time.

Unbeknownst to Guzma, Wicke's face had scrunched up in concentration, then determination as he inspected the card. As Guzma started to look up from the gifts to thank her, Wicke made her move. The former team leader was silenced by a plush pair of lips pressing gently to his cheek, the small Branch Chief standing on tiptoe in her highheels in order to reach the slumped, former thug.

Wicke made her retreat hastily afterward, her heels clacking faintly when she got back onto the city street, but the haste was unneeded. Guzma was blue-screening a bit too hard to process much else, blood rising to color his face, ears and neck.

Distress at the bustle in Hau'Oli city completely forgotten, Guzma returned the bug-covered card to its place in the gift box and mechanically began to make his way back to Iki Town. He mentally ran through all he knew about Wicke and the events that just occurred, the feel of her lips still exceedingly fresh in his mind. And if he naturally started cradling the gifts a tad more carefully in his arms with each thought, well, no one was there to comment on the fact.

 _FIN_


End file.
